Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V. Narayanan has announced that India will establish its own space station by 2035 and will send an astronaut to the moon and bring them back to Earth independently by 2040.
Dr. Narayanan recalled how India’s space programme began modestly, with the launch of a 17-metre rocket that could carry only 35 kilograms.
Today, he noted, the country is building rockets as tall as 40-storey buildings, capable of lifting payloads of up to 74,000 kilograms. He added that the Aditya mission has made India one of only four countries to send satellites to study the Sun, and it has provided an abundance of valuable data to the scientific community.
On 12 December 2019, the General Assembly proclaimed 20 July as World Chess Day to mark the date of the establishment of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in Paris in 1924.
Under initiative of FIDE, July 20 has been observed as International Chess Day by chess players around the world since 1966.
The designation of World Chess Day of the UN will not only recognize the important role of the FIDE in supporting international cooperation for chess activity and aiming to improve friendly harmony among all peoples of the world, but also to provide an important platform to foster, dialogue, solidarity and culture of peace.
The General Assembly declared International Moon Day, a United Nations-designated international day to be observed annually on 20 July, in its resolution 76/76 on “International cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space” in 2021.
International Moon Day marks the anniversary of the first landing by humans on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 lunar mission in 1969.
The celebrations will also consider the achievements of all States in the exploration of the Moon and raise public awareness of sustainable Moon exploration and utilization.
With the birth of space activities, the Moon became the ultimate destination of countless missions, including crewed flights that brought the first human footprints to another place in the universe.
In FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup 2025, Koneru Humpy created history by becoming the first-ever Indian woman to reach the semifinals in Batumi, Georgia.
Humpy beat China’s Song Yuxin in the quarterfinals. No Indian before her had managed to make it to the final four of the tournament before this year’s edition.
Earlier, Koneru Humpy struck the first blow, securing the game one in the quarterfinals of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Women’s World Cup.
Divya Deshmukh and Harika Dronavalli will play tiebreaks to decide the winner of the all-Indian quarterfinal clash.
Divya Deshmukh and Harika Dronavalli drew both classical games in the all-Indian last-eight clash.
In Wrestling, under-23 Asian champion Sumit won the silver medal in the 60kg Greco-Roman category at the Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial 2025 wrestling tournament in Budapest, Hungary.
The Indian wrestler was beaten 5-1 by European champion Nihat Mammadli of Azerbaijan in the final.
Anil Mor, meanwhile, won the bronze medal bout after beating Ikhtiyor Botirov of Uzbekistan 7-4 in the Greco-Roman 55kg. The Indian had won the gold medal in the same category at the Ulaanbaatar Open in May.
The Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial in Budapest was the fourth and final wrestling ranking series of the year.
The ranking points on offer will help wrestlers earn better seeding for the 2025 World Wrestling Championships, which will be held in Zagreb, Croatia from September 13 to 21. The Indian contingent finished with 10 medals – three gold, three silver and four bronze – at the Budapest wrestling ranking series.
In FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup 2025, India’s strong showing continues with four Grandmasters in game two of the quarterfinals in Batumi, Georgia. As India becomes the first country to have four players in the Quarterfinals, the Grandmasters are looking to clinch spots in the semifinals and qualification for the 2026 Women’s Candidates Tournament.
Koneru Humpy is closest to advancing after defeating China’s Yuxin Song in Game 1. Humpy prevailed over the 19-year-old International Master in a sharp tactical battle. A draw in Game 2 would send Humpy through.
In an all-Indian clash, Divya Deshmukh and Dronavalli Harika played to a quiet draw in their opening game.
With the match level, both players will aim for a decisive result in Game 2 to avoid tiebreaks.
Vaishali also drew her first game, against former world champion Tan Zhongyi of China. Vaishali, who played the longest game of the day, will have the Black pieces in Game 2 and needs a win to secure a semifinal berth.
India’s electronics exports have surged by 47 percent to 12.41 billion dollars in the first quarter of the current fiscal, signalling the country’s rise as a global manufacturing hub.
According to the Commerce Ministry, the US, UAE, and China have emerged as the top three export destinations for India’s electronics sector during the April-June quarter.
This geographical spread highlights India’s growing integration into the global electronics supply chain and underscores the country’s emergence as a credible alternative manufacturing hub in Asia. The US remains India’s largest export destination, commanding a 60.17 percent share, followed by the UAE (8.09 per cent) and China (3.88 per cent).
The data also showed that the US remains the dominant export destination for India’s ready-made garments.
It accounted for 34.11 percent of shipments. The US is followed by the UK (8.81 per cent), the UAE (7.85 percent), Germany (5.51 percent), and Spain (5.29 percent).
During April-June this fiscal, exports of ready-made garments of all textiles rose to 4.19 billion dollars as against 3.85 billion dollars in the same quarter last fiscal. These figures reflect India’s continued competitiveness in the global apparel market, backed by its skilled manufacturing base, diversified product offerings, and growing reputation for quality.
Prince Al-Waleed, widely known as Saudi Arabia’s ‘Sleeping Prince,’ passed away at the age of 36 after spending nearly two decades in coma. Prince Al-Waleed was the eldest son of Prince Khaled bin Talal, a prominent member of the Saudi royal family.
In 2005, at the age of 15, he was involved in a severe car accident in London that left him with a traumatic brain injury and a serious hemorrhage. He was later transferred to King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh, where he remained in a coma. Despite intensive treatment, he never regained full consciousness.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the merger of Adani Cementation with Ambuja Cements, which will help to consolidate Adani Group's cement business under one unit and bring synergistic benefits.
Earlier in June 2024, the billionaire Gautam Adani-led group announced a merger and ownership restructuring of its cement assets,
which are housed under Ambuja Cements and Adani Cementation, part of Adani Enterprises.
Passing an order, the Ahmedabad bench of the NCLT, on July 18, sanctioned the Scheme of amalgamation of Adani Cementation with Ambuja Cements.
The effective date of the amalgamation will be April 1, 2024, said the 70-page-long NCLT order.
The intergroup merger is based on share swapping, and Adani Enterprises will get 8.7 million shares of Ambuja Cements.
Adani Group is the second-largest Cement manufacturer in the country with over 100 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity.
Under the visionary leadership of Anvesh Tiwari, Laraware’s “Nxtbanking” platform sets a new benchmark for scalability, compliance, and innovation in the fintech landscape.
In a landmark move that could redefine the Indian fintech ecosystem, Laraware Pvt Ltd has launched India’s first fully AI-powered fintech software platform,
developed and led by technology innovator Anvesh Tiwari. This platform is set to revolutionise how digital financial services are built, deployed, and scaled in India.
The newly launched platform, branded as “Nxtbanking”, enables banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), aggregators, and fintech startups to instantly offer intelligent financial services with,
enterprise-grade compliance, real-time automation, and robust security.
Nxtbanking is not just another API platform; it is India’s first end-to-end, AI-native fintech stack, designed to streamline onboarding, verification, transaction execution, and fraud prevention, all powered by deep AI automation.
Kotak Mahindra Prime (KMPL), the auto financing arm of Kotak Group, on Friday said it has become a preferred financer, offering its seamless financing experience for Tesla's futuristic EVs.
Kotak Mahindra Prime is the first among financers to be appointed as a Preferred Financer for Tesla in India, the company said in a statement.
KMPL will be offering specially curated car finance schemes for Tesla EV buyers, it said.
Buyers would be able to check financing options by KMPL on the Tesla India portal/mobile application itself for a seamless buying experience, it said.
KMPL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer- Shahrukh Todiwala.
Jio Financial Services Limited (JFSL) and Germany’s Allianz Group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Allianz Europe BV, have entered a binding agreement to establish a 50:50 domestic reinsurance joint venture aimed at meeting the growing needs of India’s dynamic insurance market.
This strategic collaboration brings together JFSL’s deep local knowledge and strong digital capabilities with Allianz’s global reinsurance and underwriting expertise, setting up a transformative new entrant in India’s reinsurance ecosystem.
The new venture will leverage Allianz’s longstanding presence through its Allianz Re and Allianz Commercial portfolios in India,
alongside its global strengths in pricing, risk selection, and portfolio management. Allianz Re has been reinsuring risks in India for over 25 years, making the group well-positioned to bring world-class reinsurance solutions to the Indian market.
The JV’s mission is to bolster India’s insurance ecosystem by providing insurers with robust underwriting capabilities and competitive reinsurance capacity. This step is aligned with India’s national goal of achieving “Insurance for All by 2047,” and reflects a broader vision of financial inclusion and risk protection.
To enhance access to quality urban transport, scale up electric vehicles (EVs) production and strengthen India’s electric mobility ecosystem, IFC is providing $20 million equity investment to Transvolt Mobility Private Limited (Transvolt), as part of its $50 million financing round.
This is IFC’s first equity investment in an EV platform in India and globally.
It will enable Transvolt to scale its electric fleet portfolio to 3,500 vehicles and create 8,200 jobs in the next five years. It will also support the company’s long-term goal of deploying 8,000 heavy commercial EVs such as buses and trucks across India.
